Insight

When Customers Say Adios!

Fresh perspectives to help executives understand the reasons that customers leave their financial institution for another.

Customer attrition is a painful problem for financial institutions. The acquisition process for new customers is costly and does not solve the attrition problem.

No matter how many customers respond to your net promoter survey about their experience with your financial institution, NPS does not explain the whole story. To help financial institution executives, we undertook this research to explore, uncover, and dig deeply into the voice of the customer to capture customer stories and reasons for switching. In CCG Catalyst Fresh Insights latest study, Why Customers Switch Their Bank or Credit Union, investigates the behavior, motivations, and attitudes of 200 customers segmented into business customers, bank customers and credit union members, which 53% are business owners, and customers from diverse lifestyles.

Customers have many financial institution choices to conduct their banking. The research points to many reasons, frustrations, challenges, and trigger points of customers who switched their bank or credit union.

Customers who switched their bank or credit union are customers whose lifestyle incurs change. Customers who are 25 – 44 years old could be finishing secondary education, changing jobs, getting married, having children and/or moving to a new home. They are used to and expect change. When they leave most customer [54%] move their personal accounts, while 36% take both their personal and business accounts.

National banks incurred the greatest number of customers switching, while credit unions had the least number of customers leaving. Customers [55%] who left their national bank sought other types of financial institutions to conduct their banking. National banks that were mentioned the most by customers included Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Chase, and Citi.

Business customers complained the most about the lack of a banking relationship and advice to help them grow their business.

More than half the customers expressed negative attitudes and sentiments toward the former financial institution. After leaving their primary FI for a new financial institution, 84% of the customer who expressed satisfaction.

Asked to describe their challenges 63% said customers had problems with products, service, and channels. In their discussions, 60% talked about needs and ethics as trigger points. Convenience and trust two key elements to keeping a relationship with the customer.

Read more in full study where we provide recommendations on managing neglected customers who feel the need to leave because of negative experiences with your financial institution.

The full report provides 47 pages of analysis and insights of 200 bank or credit union customers who switched their bank or credit union for another financial institution. We codified the reasons, frustrations, challenges and trigger points of customers, and transformed the analysis into recommendations.

Report Contents